Updated
March 13, 2008
FIRST 10 YEARS
1997 - 2008

Gambia Tourist Support
1997 - GTS People 2007/8 - 2008

GTS goes through periodic changes. In 2005 GTS developed a UK Registered Charity GETSuk No 1110998
This change brought with it the need for a massive change in GTS/GETS administrative structure in Gambia. The UK trustees needed new methods of dealing with sponsors & new accounting systems with full audit trails.
The changes have resulted in staff changes.

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GTS to Aug 2007
GTS Staff 2004
GTS UK
GTS Kololi - Bar
Happy Corner
Foday leaves GTS

Yankuba a GTS host for some years, now spends the rainy season running a market garden project in his village Neema, and co-ordinates excursions for visiting Members during the main tourist season Nov - May

Nfamara, Head at Bakoteh and GETS Education Manager

Cliff English Training development

From 2002 when Kabs took over the running of GTS in Gambia, he grew the charity year on year. In 2005 when GTS devolved the Educational Charity side of its operation to the newly registered UK Charity, 'Gambia Education and Teaching Support UK' Kabs remained as Director (Gambia) to oversee the transition from GTS to GETSuk.

That process is now almost complete, Kabs has steered GETS through the trauma of many changes, not only GETS changes, but also helping to introduce the new Tax and Social Security Systems introduced in Gambia during 2006/7.

In February 2007 Kabs really wanted to leave GETS, but reluctantly agreed to stay for a further 6 months, in August 2007 after a difficult 6 months, I reluctantly allowed Kabs his own way and released him from GETS employment.

Kabs knows how much he will be missed, but he simply found it harder and harder to be comfortable with the new systems, maybe we will soon see Kabs in local community politics or working with the Press or Media, all skills he developed with GTS in his last 5 years with GTS and laterly GETSuk.

GTS/GETS now has a new staffing structure.

I now spend almost 10 months a year in Gambia where GTS has developed the GTS Bar and Restaurant, this is managed by Adam and currently opens from late October to early May each year.

I spend time each day at the GTS/GETS office (normally 8am to 9am) but from September 2007 will be at the office for longer periods each day.

GTS still runs tourist visits around Gambia for members of GTS and GETS and this was taken over in early 2007 by Yankuba, (see left margin).

Musa Colley joined us in November 2006, he has worked with the UK trustees trying to fulfill their requirements as far as sponsorships are concerned and making GETS accounting in Gambia comply with the trustees need for full auditing. The office has been transformed and now has the advantage of an office based member of staff making communications much easier by phone and email.

Musa's employment terminiated at the end of January 2008.

Basiru Ceesay an adult student sponsored for further education through the charity has been working in a voluntary capacity for most of 2007 and was taken on as our administrative assistant in November 2007.

After 10 years of growth, during which time the charity first GTS and then GETS has provided employment opportunities for Gambian staff. However, due to a series of circumstances, the charity trustees have concluded that administration in Gambia must be headed up by a UK administrator.

From November 2007 - India Glynn has taken the role of carrying out a full audit on every student sponsorship file, it has taken nearly 5 months - but in co-ordination with Sheila our UK trustee for sponsorships the process is almost complete. India will leave us shortly and Sue Pinkney, a very experienced administrator with Age Concern in the UK, now lives in Gambia and will work part time in the Gambia office.

The general review of Gambian staffing for the charity continues.

In February 2008, an ADSL line was installed intio the office making internet communication vastly easier and itemised billing on the phone line has been instituted to reduce the massive increase in phone bills run up from the charity office identified in later part of 2007. With phone bills peaking during the months of July and August to almost £200 a month.

Jerreh, The GETS Sponsorship Manager, left Gambia in June 07, to visit his UK sponsor for 4 weeks, he did not return to Gambia as expected and at the Trustees meeting in early August, it was concluded that his willingness to comply with the needs of the trustees, to keep accurate records and provide feedback to sponsors, had not been met after almost 18 months of requests, that and his extended stay in the UK without notice or permission, indicated his lack lustre attitude to his GETS position and the trustees felt his employment as a representative of the GETS charity, should be terminated forthwith.

A role of Administrative Assistant has beeen introduced. The job is largely office based, now that GETS has moved to a cheque payment system for all sponsered students and GETS staff, this single change in the administration has dramatically reduced the amount of travel required by staff.

Student visits will still take place, but specifically for monitoring rather than making payments. Reporting back to the sponsors will be the key responsability of the Administrative Assistant.

Nfamara Jarju, was, and still is the head master at Bakoteh Nursery, but in addition, he has taken on the new role of Education Manager. His new role, yet to be fully defined is to co-ordinate the educational provision at all of the schools - either fully funded by GETS or administered by them, he visits all the schools on a regular basis and provides reports back to the office. In addition he is helping to spread good practise around the schools and ensure that they have the resources to teach effectively.

Five very successful First Aid training days took place in April - May 2006 and for the first time all of the teachers felt they were under the GETS umbrella and benefitting from GETS involvement. The First Aid training was followed with the specific teacher training aimed at improving their own English and English teaching in the schools - This trainimng is based on the work done by Cliff Parfit over the last couple of years and will continue during the rest of 2007 and into 2008.

This work will provide evidence of progress in our schools and form the basis of pay increases based on classroom results.

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